melds traditional 12-Step philosophies with modalities based upon
the latest empirical research, to create a "recovery Mecca" where
women can join a treatment community whose rhythms move to a
feminine beat. Acupuncture, yoga, meditation, art therapy, sound
therapy, and color therapy are all implemented in the Orchid's
multi-modality approach.
and practical, comfortable furnishings. She plans to incorporate
basic Planetree concepts while adding her own visionary ideas.
She will include, for example, "simple but beautiful touches, and
also some elements of surprise, to challenge them to take more
notice of their surroundings." A red wall "a challenging color,
but muted by the elements of nature,"
might be used as a backdrop for a Buddha
figure surrounded by lush green plants,
Kanuth suggests. "Simple ideas can be
effective, like a long piece of bamboo
tied up on a wall. Just the colors of the
bamboo are fascinating enough to hold
your attention."
netting to give a sense of simultaneous
privacy and freedom. While a canopy
bed offers a sense of security, privacy,
and elegant luxury, the diffused light of
the soft and airy netting will help avoid
feelings of claustrophobia. "The beds will
be made of rattan and covered with white
linens and feather pillows. The walls will
be in yellow for warmth or a very Mexican
pink for joy, and an intense pale blue for
calmness. With the right mix of soothing
elements, color becomes a background
for the comfort and calmness of the
room and its contents. In the evening
when lying there, they will hear the water
fountain and the bamboo clinking as the
wind blows gently, and will be able to find
the security and the hum of the simple
things we never hear when too busy or
too stressed." Kanuth wants residents to
enjoy the experience so much that they
will be inclined to recreate healing spaces
in their own homes, once they leave the
Orchid Center. "I make spaces for people
to live in, enjoy, and find the peace they
need to nurture the soul, so that they can
go out into the world again and again, as
warriors."
Kanuth says. She wants to create portals
to verdant nature through the placement
of nature photos, landscapes of the human
body as hills and valleys, wood carvings,
and a ceiling lamp made from crystals that
dance in the sunlight, along with the art of
them out and make them into art in oversized frames."
pathways, and the sound of flowing water will conspire to create
sanctuaries throughout the Orchid Center, in what Kanuth says will be
"a spa of living space."
following the exquisite and mysterious journey of self-discovery.
Along the way she gives voice to that innate force within herself
that she finds so difficult to articulate in words, the voice we all
hear and recognize when we are confronted with living works of
original, authentic art.